Tide’s Copeland has fresh angle on pitching

Wednesday

Feb 28, 2007 at 12:01 AM

By Christopher Walsh Sports Writer

TUSCALOOSA | When junior relief pitcher Josh Copeland was last credited with a victory, it came against the same team the University of Alabama baseball team will face at 3 p.m. today, UAB.But that win last April at the Hoover Met was like a baseball lifetime ago, when Copeland was literally a completely different pitcher.What’s different is his delivery. The right-hander has dropped his arm down from the standard over-the-shoulder motion to a less stressful three-quarter delivery that’s unique to the Tide staff.While it’s taken a little off his fastball, which topped out in the low 90s last season, it gives him an unusual release point away from his body that can be troublesome to batters while simultaneously creating more movement on the ball.“He’d been in the program for two years and constantly hurt," coach Jim Wells said. “He’d throw one day after being off for two weeks and come down with arm trouble. So we dropped him down mainly for that, and the good thing is that he doesn’t have arm trouble any more."When Wells initially approached Copeland with the idea last fall, the pitcher was more than a little hesitant. He was coming off a season with a 3.38 ERA, but had only made 13 appearances.“When I first did it I didn’t have very high expectations," Copeland said.“I figured I would try it that one time and he would tell me I was awful at it and I would go back to throwing it over the top. But I really like it now. It took a lot of really hard work, but hopefully it’s going to keep paying off.“I’m pretty much never sore and my arm never gets tired. It’s like night and day compared to what it used to be."Still, Copeland’s new delivery remains a work in progress. It wasn’t until approximately a week before the season started that things began to click due to an adjustment – when Wells had him step toward the plate more and not throwing across his body.He added another pitch, a slider that’s still sort of hit-or-miss, and is working on improving against left-handers, particularly a change-up that runs away from hitters.So far the results have been somewhat mixed, though Copeland has pitched better than his numbers indicate (0-1, 4.55 ERA). But Wells has also given him valuable playing time, with six appearances through the first 10 games, resulting in two saves, and, more importantly, improved confidence.“I make sure I go through my mechanics every day," Copeland said. “If I take a day off, one little tweak in my mechanics could mess the whole thing up."Copeland’s ultimate role with the Tide this season -- whether as closer, setup man or middle relief -- figures to be influenced by his teammates as much as anything else.So far, sophomores Tommy Hunter (2-1, 1.89 ERA, 19 innings, 19 strikeouts), Miers Quigley (1-0, 1.04 ERA, 17 1/3 innings, 20 strikeouts) and Casey Kebodeaux (1-0, 1.23 ERA, 14 2/3 innings, 16 strikeouts) have made nine of the 10 starts.The other start was made by senior Brandon Belcher, who was named the SEC pitcher of the week after giving up just one hit and no runs against Georgia State on Feb. 10.Although Belcher is still experiencing some pain after having Tommy John surgery, Wells is hopeful he’ll eventually be available for the rotation, along with senior Bernard Robert, who made his first appearance of the season Sunday against Villanova and is expected to make his 40th career start today at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.“He’s going to pitch the same against UAB or the Yankees," Wells said. “He’s going to give his best."The depth might allow Wells to move Hunter into the bullpen to serve as the Tide’s closer. Even so, Copeland could frequently be in the mix, especially considering that Alabama’s longest outing by a starter has been 6 innings.“We knew we were a little short on pitching with the loss of guys we had," Wells said. “Now we’re all basically trying to get them together at one time."Shelton State Community College transfer Brandon Wallace (0-1, 2.53 ERA) is expected to start for UAB (2-5), which is coming off a road sweep at Arizona State where the Blazers were outscored 35-10 over three games.Alabama will then close out its season-long 14-game homestand with a weekend series against McNeese State (2-10), whose coach, Chad Clement, resigned after the fourth game.The schedule picks up dramatically next week with a Tuesday night game against Southern Miss at Trustmark Park in Jackson, Miss., a Wednesday home game against Tennessee Tech (6:30 p.m.) and a weekend home series against Nebraska, ranked seventh in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll.Reach Christopher Walsh at christopher.walsh@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0196